'Party with a heart' kicks off

"We stand at the brink of promise and destiny," The Rev. Dr. Howard-John Wesley declared this morning at the J.W. Marriott Hotel in Washington.

USA TODAY's Geri Coleman Tucker writes that Wesley drew parallels between the more than 40 years since Martin Luther King Jr.'s death and the Biblical account of the 40 years that the Israelites wandered in the wilderness -- all in the context of tomorrow's inauguration of the nation's first African-American president.

Stafford, by his own estimate, has written checks for more
than $1.6 million to underwrite his People's Inaugural Project -- a sprawling
effort to bring more than 400 disadvantaged citizens to Washington to
participate in the inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama.

Geri says that this morning, Wesley (preaching from Joshua 4) said it was important to mark this moment in history "not as the end of the journey but the beginning of the battle."

Wesley is pastor of the 205-year-old Alfred Street Baptist Church in Alexandria, Va.

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About David Jackson

David's journalism career spans three decades, including coverage of five presidential elections, the Oklahoma City bombing, the 2000 Florida presidential recount and the 9/11 terrorist attacks. He has covered the White House for USA TODAY since 2005. His interests include history, politics, books, movies and college football -- not necessarily in that order. More about David